The "rules of the road" only apply to the drones. Management is too smart to be handcuffed by silly virtues.

 

I'm a little fuzzy on this thread. In my world, there's only one thing better than going to work to fly a great trip . . .
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Staying home and getting paid for that great trip with no recovery obligation!
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What's with all the angst here?? I am going to go on the record here and say that I will pre-approve the company buying ANY of my future trips as long as I get to stay home with no recovery flying.
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You guys are complaining about a non-issue here!!!
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If the company had put the trip into open time, let guys pick it up IAW seniority and the contract, then bought them off then I agree no issue. The fact they created a boondoggle out of thin air, assigned it to the favored few without the trip ever hitting open time, and only paid once caught with their hand in the cookie jar is the point.

The fact that somebody in management thinks this is somehow OK is the point.

The double-talk is the point.
"We just can't make money on shorter high credit trips"
"More 4 day trips in Atlanta and reduced credit"
Then a custom built boondoggle for the favored few that has zero regard for efficiency or cost.

Rules of the Road for the drones, favors for the elite.

I hope you misread the original post, otherwise I'm a little fuzzy how you could think differently.

 

Mike, sometimes admin trips are scheduled and line pilots don't get to bid on them because it is an "admin" trip. Did you call the pilots in question to see what was up with the trip?

 

I called ALPA, not the pilots. I don't have ALPA's tools for checking trip coverage nor their knowledge of the contract, and frankly that's what I pay them 2% to do, I found the irregularity and let them run it to ground. 2 days later I got a return call from ALPA with the info in the original post. Why would the company pull the trip (originally assigned on the 11th or 12th, now in daily trip coverage for the 13th), pay 2 guys who had no idea they should get paid, and then give the trip back to the original 2 pilots if everything was on the up and up in the 1st place? I didn't write this post until I had information back from ALPA. Could I be wrong? Yes, it wouldn't be the 1st time. If somebody wants to prove it then I will eat crow and admit it. I was very careful to not post names, just a trip number. Any DAL pilot can look and make their own judgement. I feel like I did my due diligence before writing.

I see this 1 of 2 ways:

1. This trip requires management. Trip should have went out via open time and then the company should have bought the trip.

2. This trip does not require management.

Either way they went about assigning it the wrong way. It is bigger than 1 trip, from my lowly line pilot perspective there are 2 sets of rules.

 

Mike, Since you know the LCA involved, why don't you give him a call and find out what the trip was about. It may not be as bad as you make it out to be.

 

I don't know the LCA, I was given a type rating check ride by the captain sitting in the right seat. There is no reason to call, ALPA handled the issue to my satisfaction.

I hope it's not as bad as I think, I really liked the guy who gave me my type ride: big picture, very personable, and I thought his focus was in all the right areas. For all I know, the individual pilots weren't even aware of the details of the flight. They could've just been handed the trip by their boss and told to fly it. The trip in it's original form could be legit and the company just decided to pay out because it looks bad. Perception is reality, and on the surface this looks like elite favoritism. My frustration with DAL isn't about 1 trip or 2 pilots, this particular example from my frame of reference just epitomizes a very sore subject with me, both at the company and this country at-large.

We are working for a company that sells rules of the road, but the money grubbers at the top epitomize exactly the opposite. I could be dead wrong about this trip but my premise doesn't change. If you're so concerned, you can call the pilot too and set the record straight. Heck, maybe you ARE the pilot and want me to call you . My brain hurts, I'm done defending my action and/or lack thereof.

 

Great job Mike! Unfortunately It's up to us to keep others honest sometimes.

 

How would one initiate reroute review?

 

Mike, my point to all this is, I believe your thread topic is a bit over the top on this one. The contract allows the company to buy trips for admin/lca types and pay protects the pilots who would have flown the trip.